COVER PHOTO BY
TYSONS ENGINEER
FIAT FLOW
ALL PHOTOGRAPHY AND
GRAPHICS WITHIN THIS
PUBLICATION RIGHTS
RESERVED TO THE ARTIST

THETYSONSCORNER.COM

PAGE 2

The Hydraulics of
Tr a f f i c

………4

We Are Looking For Writers
MADEWELL Event
Tysons Corner

………7

FOOD TRUCK WATCH
ATIP and
The Bratwurst King

………8

Tolls and Their Finite
Funding
THE OUTER BELTWAY

……10

Art Scene in Northern Virginia

……18

McLean
Stuck in the Middle With You

……22

………6

PAGE 3

THE HYDRAULICS
OF

TRAFFIC

Imagine you could float over a
transportation network and view it at
the network scale where cars would
begin to appear as a single moving
mass. Individual blips of the road
would
be
ironed
out
and
intersections/ramps would appear
like nodes. What you would see
would be familiar to anyone who has
ever seen water running through a

THETYSONSCORNER.COM

channel or pipe, but how far do the
similarities run?
The mechanisms that control the
movement of water through a
channel or pipe are not independent
of other elements in physics. Friction
governs where water runs, how fast
in flows, and how much energy the
flow maintains. This friction is
dependent on two elements, the
velocity of the flow and the
characteristic of that flow (turbulence

and fluid composition). The faster and
more non-uniform the flow becomes
the more friction occurs at the walls
of the pipe, thereby removing energy
from the system and eventually being
able to stop all flow all together.

Interestingly though the same high
velocity and turbulent flows also
provides the highest flow capacity
within the pipe. The faster water
moves through the system, the more
of it you can move.

PAGE 4

Vehicle traffic is very much
dependent
on
the
same
characteristics as water flows.
Velocity provides the capability to
move a lot of traffic through a system,
like a highway, but higher velocity
roads are also more vulnerable to
curves in roads, sudden reductions in
speed due to lane reductions, and
overall
traffic
incidents.
The
characteristic of a traffic flow also is
important, and this is the element
which most traffic analyses do not
consider. Turbulence in traffic flow
would be characterized by several
differing vehicle types (large trucks,
small trucks, SUVs, sedans, and
motorcycles)
which
all
have
independent movement patterns
(braking and accelerating).
Turbulence would also be indicated in
large movements from one side to
the other of a road which would exist
in locations where many different
traffic movements are happening
(imagine the mixing bowl with many
people changing lanes). Overall
energy loss in fluid and transportation
congestion increase, ie the loss of
energy in the traffic flow, are
correlative.

So the flow is similar, but velocity and
flow type canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t define everything can
it, what about pipe size, pipe material,
and other non-flow characteristics?
Absolutely, the system itself has as
much if not more implication on how

the flow operates, in fact it is
iterative. Modifications to the pipe
system will make impacts to the flow
characteristics
by
modifying
turbulence and velocity, and much
like in traffic, the difference between
optimal flow characteristics and failed
flow characteristics occur quickly due
to the exponential nature of the
dynamic. The different pipe size and
material could be directly analogous
to the number of lanes and the lane
width/presence of shoulders of that
road.
Finally, one might wonder what
intersections, ramps, lane reductions,
and other system modifications could
be modeled as in hydraulics. All of
these are individual nodes where a
spot occurrence exists. In hydraulics
objects in a water network like
crosses, tees, bends, valves, and
reducers all have equivalent friction
impacts on a networkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s energy. In
other words when water flows
through one of these objects, energy
is lost on the other side of the object.
In fact these objects, compared to the
amount of space they use, are the
most impactful elements in a network
in energy loss. In traffic patterns this
can also be seen at major onramp
systems (crosses) which congestion
flow back upstream the system, traffic
lights (valves) which might not
operate appropriately, and reducers
(lane reductions) which bottle neck
flow into a sudden smaller flow area.

PAGE 5

The Tysons Corner is a
website in its infancy,
started in 2011, created
BY to discuss the local issues
DESCRIBING THE specific to eastern Fairfax
COMPLEXITY OF including the regions of
Tysons
Corner,
Falls
OWN BACKYARDS Church, McLean, Vienna,
and Merrifield. Our goal is
to provide a deeper
analysis of progressive
topics centered around
the
new
urbanism
concepts of a 21st century
E N T E R TA I N M E N T Northern Virginia. We
have seen the region grow
W R I T E R S from a quiet suburban
community to a cultural
U R B A N I S T S and economic contributor
of the east coast rivaling
other more established
T H I N K E R S A N D cities. The area for many
grew
without
I N N O VAT O R S years
direction
leaving
a
disconnected community
A R T S C E N E of micro-developments
R E P O R T E R S without any coordinated
design concept. Our goal
is to create a unified,
or cacophonous, voice of
residents and interested
parties to discuss what the
future vision for the

BE PART OF YOUR

COMMUNITY

OUR

LOOKING FOR

THETYSONSCORNER.COM

region could or should be.
We look to fill the
questions that many have
and provide the depth of
coverage that is difficult
for
overall
news
publications to provide.

We
are
currently
looking for interested
bloggers
who
are
looking for a forum to
discuss their ideas as a
writer for TTC. This
could be done as an
exclusive TTC format
or as a cross post with
other
independent
blogs. If you are
interested in reaching
a large base of readers
specific to this region
think about joining.
Please feel free to contact us;
navid@thetysonscorner.com

PAGE 6

Madewell

Madewell

had a great little
styling event this week at Tysons Corner and
the lovely DC blogger Sydney from The
Daybook was there to hang out. Her blog is
on my daily must-read list, so it was really
nice to see her super sweet and stylish self!
There were macarons, cupcakes, Jones sodas
(with polka dot straws), a hair braiding bar, a
great DJ, and some Madewell sales!
I happily had a Jones while I shopped around
for a few pocket tees (not black or grey, per
my â&#x20AC;&#x153;wear more colorâ&#x20AC;? resolution) and white
shorts. I wish shopping was always like this!

Like The Constant Shopper and
want more? Follow @diaryofd on
Twitter or at her personal blog

DiaryofDee.com
PAGE 7

FOOD TRUCK WATCH
The world of Food Trucks is a competitive
battle of positioning and word of mouth.
Often times that means that a person has
to pick one truck specifically over another.
I try to spread the love around as much as
possible but until this past week I had not
had the chance to show some love to a

Follow us on twitter for daily
food truck alerts forwarded
from the trucks.

new truck in Tysons, ATIP.

You may have seen ATIP around recently
and one thing that intrigued me was that
they had both breakfast and lunch time
stops in Tysons Corner. On a particularly
crowded day last week I chose to try
something new. Having never seen their
menu before I was shocked when I found
out there was a Gyro/Falafel truck just
begging for my patronage. Gyroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, for
those of you who have never tried one, is
a delicious slow cooked meat with a subtle
tahini sauce or yogurt, served on a soft
and seasoned flat bread.
ATIP fits this description to a tee, and on
top of the delicious seasoning and flavors
their gyro is a traditional slow roast lamb
that melts with each bite. Their falafel is
good too, for you vegetarians who might
be feeling neglected by most food trucks.
I rounded out the lunch with some
samosas, which unlike the Indian version,
was formed a thin filo pastry. It was one
part samosa filling and one part
spanakopita. It was crispy and delicious.
All of the selections are provided at 5
bucks which I thought was a great price
option for those who like a light, healthy,
and affordable lunch. I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a
chance to talk to the food truck owner but
from what I could tell this was a family run
operation, mom, pop, and son. Either way
it tasted authentic and made me take
notice. From now on ATIP will definitely
be on my Food Truck watch.

THETYSONSCORNER.COM

PAGE 8

The Bratwurst King
Hit the spot last week. Who knew
German food could be paired so well
with Indian food? Curry Brats are
just what I wanted.
The schnitzel was freaking amazing
also, and when I ordered it I had no
idea that it was going to be that
huge. That of course was only
exaggerated by the comically small
pretzel roll that it came tucked
between.

The sauerkraut was really great and
went very well with the brats and
pretzel rolls. The food did as it was
promised, it brought a bit of old
world europe into my afternoon.
If you are looking for a quick bite or
something
light
then
look
elsewhere. If you have a man sized
hunger that needs spicy mustard
and fried meats then welcome to
the old world. Danke Schoen
PAGE 9

THETYSONSCORNER.COM

PAGE 10

For
two
years
urbanists,
traditionalists, conservatives, liberals,
planners, and residents have all
argued about the ghost project that
never disappears, the outer beltway.
Many of the outer beltway supporters
have noted several studies that do
show that a second bridge could help
relieve traffic on 495 caused by BRAC,
unfortunately the outer beltway only
addresses a small portion of the true
cause to this traffic and does not
achieve any real results in the urban
and commercially viable regions of
northern Virginia.
While a bridge crossing at Ashburn
might help a lot of residents who work
in Maryland, there would be almost no
private funding assistance with this
pathway as the region in question is
substantially residential in nature.
In the absence of commercial business
leader funding, who overwhelmingly
are in favor of mass transit in place of
road improvements instead, the bridge
crossing would need to be a tolled
system. Based on the speculated 3.5
to 5.0 billion dollar cost of this
crossing project and ICC-like roadway
project, the tolls would need to be
quite significant. Imagine trying to
build the entirety of the Silver Line
project on ONLY tolls. As much as
people have complained about the
funding via tolls for the Silver Line,
which is anticipated to total about
$2.5 billion, imagine how hefty of a
fee would be required for a fiscally
solvent project which costs double
that amount.

This was the
best salad I have
ever eaten.

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t expect the State to help out too
much, considering how hard it was to
get $150 million in funding of the
Silver Line. Then again, the state has
been willing to help with highway
projects thoughâ&#x20AC;Ś double standard
perhaps? Either way, the toll revenue
would need to be significant to pay
back this project even if Virginia
helped with $500 million (only 10% of
the cost).

PAGE 11

So how much would the toll have to be? Well the
Dulles Toll Road has about 160,000 commuters per
day (80,000 each way) of which approximately
90,000 (45,000 each way) come from Loudoun
County based on VDOT’s “Annual Average Daily
Traffic Volume Estimates By Section of Route”. Of
the 45,000 residents in Loudoun County that use
the Dulles Toll Road, only 15% are anticipated
(pending the current resident/destination analysis
being performed) to work in Maryland and would
be users of the outer beltway. If this same
percentage were applied to the 15,000 users in
Fairfax County that are adjacent to Loudoun
County the total number of prospective outer
bridge users would be 9,000 total residents (or
18,000 total crossings).
First, one can see that this really won’t solve any
traffic problems that occur the closer we get to
the city, but it might be a political sale to Loudoun
county residents so let’s continue. With most
capital projects that attain private backing, such
as the silver line bonds, a payback period could be
anywhere from 10 years to 50 years. Obviously the
shorter the payback period, the smaller the return
interest needed, and the less costly the total
project becomes.
For a 10 year period payback we can assume that
growth in this corridor will not significantly
increase (let’s assume on average over this 10
years the total users rise to 10,000 residents or
20,000 crossings daily). Let’s also be nice to the
numbers and assume Virginia will help out the loyal
GOP and wealthy residents of Loudoun county with
a sizeable $500 million assistance. This leaves $4.5
billion that must be done through toll backed
bonds. We’ll be generous again and say that even
on weekends there will be 20,000 crossings.
So how much would a Greenway like toll of 4
dollars generate over 10 years? Right around 300
million dollars. Are you starting to see the
problem? There just isn’t enough actual users to
fund a project that would be so costly, it is an
entire order of magnitude short of its funding
needs and last I checked no one would pay a 40
dollar toll to cross a bridge, no matter how nice of
a route it would be.
Ok well how about a 50 year backing? Well this is
tricky, you are gaining the benefit of more time,
but you must also pay back far greater in the long
run. For instance even with the historically low
interest rates today on houses, a 30 year mortgage

THETYSONSCORNER.COM

at the end of the term will have cost over 2 times the
actual cost of the house.
The more money you have up front, and the shorter
your term, the less total cost. Let’s assume the bonds
are backed with a private company that sees some
great potential of the corridor (though unlike 495 HOT
this is not a likely scenario) and let’s say the total
payback cost of the toll users will only need to
increase 10% in this 50 year life span (right around $5
billion total).
PAGE 12

Let’s help out the numbers more,
since 50 years is a long time
(something that people who are
against the cost of urbanizing
Fairfax
infrastructure
don’t
understand). Over the course of 50
years let’s assume a steady
inflation of 3%. That would mean
that the Greenway toll 50 years
from now would be the same cost
as today (4 dollars) if it were
priced at 9 dollars. This is just
inflation, nothing to be afraid of, it
is the reason why a hamburger no
longer costs 10 cents and is the
natural progression of an economy
that
is
experience
growth
(something that everyone wants).
So over that 50 years the actual
average toll intake is closer to 6.50
cents if it were priced similarly to
the
Greenway.
One
final
assumption, let’s say that Loudoun
county becomes a better place
because of this corridor and 20,000
crossings becomes 60,000 crossings
over that 50 years. On average
again this would be a typical

crossing rate of 40,000 trips per
day. Again these assumptions are
all very ambitious and favor a
bridge crossing very aggressively.
The amount of revenue generated
from the tolls would therefore be
4.7 billion dollars, 300 million
dollars short but at least most of
the way there. Therefore a toll
rate of about $4.50 which would
rise with inflation to about $9.50 in
50 years could theoretically work.
This
unfortunately
assumes
explosive growth of 300% in that
same time as well as 365 days of
steady toll user ship. It also
assumes that Loudoun County lands
the deal of the century with a
private partner who will only
require a 10% total payback over
cost. That means only a 0.2%
annual yield on the investment
while taking on a multi-billion
dollar risk.
In reality any private partnership
would need to see back at least a

100% payback over 50 years, closer
to a 2% margin annually, which
would force the tolls to be far
greater to pay off the in total 9
billion dollar project.
This project as it is currently
proposed simply does not make
sense. There is no private interest
either from the construction and
management aspect or from the
commercial
business
aspect
(special tax districts). As it did
over the past 20 years this ghost
dream of an outer beltway crossing
of the Potomac will once again die
away once actual numbers are put
behind it, but in the meanwhile it
is distracting the true discussion.
This area DOES need another
bridge crossing of the Potomac and
it needs to function for both
vehicles and rail expansion. In our
follow up article we are going to
talk about how it can be done, and
where it should go to do the most
benefit
and
be
the
most
economical and functional siting.
PAGE 13

THETYSONSCORNER.COM

PAGE 14

PAGE 15

Math

The
of
Traffic Hydraulics
In hydraulics the flow of water is
classified
using
a
Reynolds
number. This is a constructed
variable which weighs the impact
of
a
flowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
velocity
and
composition and the material of
the conveyance pipe in order to
determine a friction factor. Click.
Click. Click. I just wanna read
about food trucks and new
buildings. I promise this is getting
somewhere.
The friction factor is an important
variable in flow parameters. It
defines how much energy is lost
when a fluid goes through a pipe
or any valve, tee, cross, bend, etc.
When a flow begins to slow down,
dwindle, or otherwise convert
from a supercritical to subcritical
flow (sudden hydraulic jump) it is
directly attributable to the loss of

THETYSONSCORNER.COM

energy. The reason why water
from a reservoir 20 miles away
eventually comes out of your
shower head with adequate
pressure is because the network
that conveys this water is
adequately designed.

What makes water flow into one
pipe at a certain rate and through
another pipe at a different rate? Is
it all dependent on the size of the
pipe? Not quite, in a pipe network
the amount of flow does not find
equilibrium based on a pipe
size/flow ratio but rather all pipes
in a network and paths will find
equilibrium in how much friction
energy loss they experience. This
is important because this is the
mechanism
in
which
water
determines what its direction of
least resistance is.
Now we come to transportation
networks. The current method for
determining how well a network is
operating and how well an

improvement will work views the
network as several independent
objects which direct flow based on
their capacity. This is materially
flawed because it does not
understand that when a new
highway
improvement
is
completed users that used to find
the friction energy (congestion)
with that route to be slightly more
than an alternate route will now
make a decision whether the new
improved path is now better.

This is induced traffic, something
that transportation models still
canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t anticipate. Because each
road user is very similar to each
unit mass of water it is not a large
leap to view this dynamic
similarly. Therefore, instead of
viewing a network based on
capacity and route widenings,
each network improvement should
be analyzed to determine the new
equilibrium friction factor. In
other words, people like water will
follow a path of least resistance.
PAGE 16

By creating an appropriate mathematical model the
network designer can also analyze the system not only
at a point and place peak, but at any time and
geography of the day. This will help solve the issue of
over sized roads, if properly done, which go completely
under used for a majority of a day.

In fluids the energy in a system is defined as;
Total Energy = Potential Energy(gravitational energy)
+ Kinetic Energy (movement energy) + Dynamic
Energy (pressure energy) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Friction Loss (energy loss
from point A to B)
Potential energy has no real implication in traffic flow
as the elevation has no sizable impact on
transportation network operation. Kinetic and dynamic
energy however are very relevant to transportation
analysis. The velocity of vehicle travel will directly
increase the total quantity and capacity of the road
and, as in fluids, will increase the impedance friction
that occurs. Why? At faster velocities traffic has more
difficult stopping and accelerating, similar to fluids,
and gaps between each user is increased.
Dynamic energy becomes an interesting question. In
fluid flow it defines the characteristics of the fluid
that is in motion and the pressure energy contained
with in it. In a transportation setting this dynamic is
similar to the composition of the vehicles within a
traffic flow and a measure of the traffics linear or
chaotic nature. If users are continuously shifting in and
out of lanes due to multiple point exits and entrances
then the relative capacity and friction caused is
effected compared to a traffic flow in which everyone
remains in their lanes. This has a huge implication on
how effective a system is in moving users.
With this definition we can now view Bernoulliâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fluid
equation in terms of transportation;
Total Energy = (v^2)/2 + (chaotic flow factor/static
factor) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Friction Loss between two points
The total energy is important to understand as it will
indicate when a traffic flow will go from supercritical
(free flow) to subcritical (congested flow) patterns.
Before we delve into that issue we must understand
the friction loss and the variables that turn a stable
flow into a deteriorating flow. It is also important to
understand friction loss as this is the element which all
travel ways/paths within a system will form
equilibrium to, not capacity.

People, like fluids, will
choose the path of
least resistance. Not
just how far they have
to travel, but how long
it will take.

PAGE 17

CONTACT US
THETYSONSCORNER.COM

PAGE 18

PAGE 19

Congestion Energy Losses
and

Network Equilibrium
The path of least resistance in
water was related to individual
users determining their own best
path from point A to point B. In our
next step we need to examine
what factors in transportation will
have an impact on congestion
energy loss.
The loss of energy in a fluid
conveyance is governed by the
Darcy-Weisbach equation where;
Energy loss = f (L/D) x (v^2/2g)
In this equation we see the friction
factor, as discussed in part 2 of our
analysis, as a function of the
length (L) and size (D) of the
system, being linearly related to
the
energy
loss.
Conversely
velocity (v) has an exponential
impact on how much loss is
experienced in the system. When
determining the friction factor in
transportation
we
find
that
Moodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s diagram, converted to
apply to transportation, shows an
inverse relationship between the

THETYSONSCORNER.COM

Reynolds number and the friction
factor. Therefore the friction
factor rises as a flow becomes fully
turbulent.
What does this mean? We should
slow down roads to a design speed
of 25 mph? No. As we see by the
basic capacity equation (Flow=
velocity x area) the velocity of a
system, while causing significant
energy loss, also has huge impacts
on the actual flow volume possible
on a road. What this does say
however is, in areas with turbulent
characteristics in traffic flow (lane
movements, high speeds, variant
user types) and with high speeds
we see a very sudden deterioration
in a roads capacity from visibly
functioning to full traffic jam.
While increasing the number of
lanes (the diameter/area) does
increase the capacity of the road,
it only affects the energy loss
linearly, while other factors are
impacting
the
system
exponentially. For this reason by
attacking the systemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s demand,
and therefore its turbulence, the
energy loss is impacted far greater
and more efficiently.
The best method to reducing
demand is providing an alternate

path. This of course needs to be
balanced with cost, negative
results of new traffic patterns in
previously unused regions, and the
need for some corridors to be
improved with mass transit. In
piped networks where a long and
over capacity section often times is
improved by creating a loop to its
destination. This allows demand to
be split by these two paths and is
far more efficient than increasing
the size of the pipe in question in
many cases. This is visibly the case
in transportation networks as well,
where often traffic within a city
finds a healthier equilibrium in the
gridded network than the freeways
with fewer route options.
Whether the system is improved
via a new route connection or
increased corridor size, the effect
is not experienced solely on the
direct vicinity. The entire network
re-adjusts
to
find
a
new
equilibrium based on all congestion
energy losses being equal at any
multi direction option. The new
pathway will induce traffic flow
from congested routes to the new
lane/road.

PAGE 20

In a simple example,
imagine
3
suburban
regions with paths into
an urban core. The
regions themselves are
connected
to
each
other, as well as the
commercial
business
area. If path 2 did not
exist, then the users
from the outer suburb
would either choose
path 3 or path 1, and
that decision would be
dependent on how long
it takes for them to get
to work, not on how
much capacity either
route is capable of. In
this way, the length and
congestion is the largest
determinant in how the
flow will split. If very
few people use path 3,
even if it is a longer
route, the two roads will
find an equilibrium in
which the statistical
average of users will
balance their commute
path timing.

If a new path 2 was
constructed
between
two of the suburban
regions
one
could
expect that a significant
amount of people from

path 1 and path 3 would
now switch to using path
2. At a certain point this
may mean that path 2
deteriorates by overuse,
causing
larger
congestion energy loss,
and therefore path 1
and 3 would still be
used by some.
Again the length of time
it would take for the
statistical average of
people would determine
how much each path
actually receives. If the
final segment of path 2
and 3 was in very poor
condition then people
would still use path 1 to
a level in which the
length of time it would
take to use path 2 or 3
would equal out. If the
final portion of path 2
and 3 was really awful,
everyone from suburb X
could end up using path
1.
However EVERYONE will
not switch to path 1,
because if this were to
occur then path 2 and 3
would suddenly become
far more attractive of a
route.

PAGE 21

McLean

Stuck in the
Middle With You
McLean Virginia has come
to be defined by its upscale
residents, a culture of
isolationist
development,
and an objection to all
outside ideas. For all of the
wealth its residents possess
the town is beginning to
show some wear and tear.
After decades of rejecting
almost
all
centralized
concepts
and
master
planning over hauls the
main corridors of Dolley
Madison and Old Dominion
have gone from vibrant
destinations to aging to
through ways.
McLean has an opportunity
with its location tucked
between Tysons Corner,
Arlington, and Northwest
DC in becoming a boutique
sleeping community with
more than tract housing
without
needing
to
â&#x20AC;&#x153;urbanizeâ&#x20AC;?.
In a twitter discussion
between
myself
and
Richard Florida this past
week, (640 characters of
amazing conversation), I
came to realize that
density is not always a way
forward. Sometimes the
best way to create smart
growth in a region is to
understand its culture and
the desires of residents to
preserve the neighborhood.
Integrating subdued growth
in a way that can create
benefits
to
residents
through
better walking
corridors, lessened traffic,
and diverse retail can
organically create a main
street.

THETYSONSCORNER.COM

In previous stories we have
said
how
important
reinstating main street to
our towns really is, by
creating ownership of the
town instead of mass selling
of lands to large retail
stores,
everyone
is
reinvested in the future. No
one
cleans
up
a
neighborhood better than
its own residents, but when
that resident becomes a
multi-national corporation,
the
neighborhood
becomes entrapped by an
absentee landlord.

THEN

Dolley Madison Drive may
be too far gone to save,
this
road
has clearly
become a traffic calmed
vehicle
corridor.
Old
Dominion on the other hand
still has a chance. Every
year the traffic counts on
Old Dominion continue to
grow and of course much of
this is commuter traffic
using Old Dominion as a go
between from the Dulles
Toll Road and Arlington.

In order to save 4 or 5
minutes on a commute
users are opting for this
route as opposed to using
Route 123 to GW Parkway,
a
more
appropriate
vehicular path. With this
excessive through traffic
the corridor has fallen to
the retail cycle of strip
malls and gas stations.
There have been some spot
improvements such as the
Elm Street development
however this is only a
fraction of the remaining
corridor between Chain
Bridge Road and Dolley
Madison. How can Old
Dominion be taken away
from
commuters
and
returned to residents?

NOW

PAGE 22

Most bike incidents occur at intersections or by
drivers who refuse to give equal right of way to
bicyclists. Bike lanes are tough political sales,
often expensive for Right of way acquisition,
and continue a cycle of widened roads.

Start with traffic calming, let users
who want to fly down Old Dominion
at 45 miles per hour know that
they are no longer the priority.
One concept could be including
roundabouts at Old Dominion and
Chain Bridge, but an easier sale
might be right lane rumble strips
that create an inherent bike lane.
The rumble strips do nothing to
impede vehicular traffic (much
smaller than speed bumps), but by
providing 4 or 5 strips tightly
together every 200′ a vehicle
becomes annoyed by the cadence
of the lane and is more likely to
use the left lane. At a minimum
most people don’t enjoy driving 45
mph over rumble strips and would
choose to slow down to the actual
speed limit of 35 mph.

A mixture of traffic calming on specific corridors like Old
Dominion, where through traffic is unwanted, with rumble
strips can return huge benefits and make pedestrian and bike
travel safer without large capital costs by using existing road
space.

The ripple effect would be more
users selection GW Parkway and
more short trip users (residents)
being able to use their own roads
with either cars, bikes, or walking
and being able to do so safely. This
is cost effective (extremely low
cost as opposed to adding more
paved surface) and keeps Old
Dominion at a manageable and
attractive human scale.
Next
step?
Allow
some
redevelopment in this specific
region for higher end retail,
projects that are willing to build
structural parking so that shops can
be brought forward and along
wider pedestrian walks. Require
small scale (15′x15′) parks for every
block to encourage pedestrians.
These are small tweaks without

needing skyscrapers, that are
affordable and not obstructive to
developers, and are encouraged
with the small improvements
within public areas like the streets.
Why do this? The people of McLean
like their area the way it is and it
has always been this way. Actually,
McLean wasn’t always this way. It
started as a township incorporated
into the W O&D Railway. The town
original looked as you would think,
a small hamlet of 19th century
brick buildings, tightly wrapping
this commercial center, and
surrounded with wealthy homes
and manors.

PAGE 23

The only remaining semblance of
its past remains the wealthy
homes, but with all that wealth
the residents have lost a sense of
identity that other towns like
Vienna or Old Town Alexandria
retained. This is visible by just
how few residents you see
walking around what remains of
this corridor, heck you barely see
anyone driving and parking unless
you are talking about the
McDonalds on the corner which is
packed. To say that residents
don’t want a sense of community
and place is a hyperbole of what
suburbanites want.
Yes obviously residents want to
keep their houses unimpeded
with skyscrapers and traffic, but
when did they demand that
stores must only remain Stop N’
Go and 7-11. Clearly there are
other options as well but even
these businesses have trouble,
see the closure of McLean 1910,
because of the lack of a unified
and accessible path for residents.
By returning to what made
McLean an affluent corridor and
town, without mimicking what
Arlington and Tysons are doing,
the residents can have both their
wealthy hamlet and an outlet to
enjoy the smaller things in life.
This doesn’t require adding
hundreds of thousands of square
feet of retail space, it means
adding smartly designed and
compact development which
spurs a mom and pop format. It
won’t happen all at once, but
speaking with one voice and
vision for the town can resist
development in the form of
McMansions and strip malls, and
encourage
tried
and
true
methods
that
have
lasted
multiple generations like in Old
Town Alexandria and Vienna